This is a request for partial support for the Federation of American Society of Experimental Biology Conference on Inherited Cystic Kidney Diseases to be held in Tucson, Arizona in August 10th-5th, 2002. The discipline of inherited renal cystic disorders has evolved over the last 10 years with identification, location, and sequencing of the autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) gene 1 (PKD1), ADPKD gene 2 (PKD2) and the recently the autosomal recessive and hepatic fibrosis disease (PKHD) gene. By the year 2,000 the number of funded investigators in the world dedicated to the field of inherited renal cystic disorders had grown so that four (4) Centers of Excellence have been funded by the National Institutes of Health. Recruitment of new investigators from developmental nephrology, cell and molecular biology to focus their attention on disease mechanisms and therapeutic insights of inherited cystic disorders of the kidney have occurred as a result of these efforts. With this in mind, the proposed symposium will have an impact on many scientists and clinicians with interests extending beyond pediatric and adult nephrology. This is the first FASEB meeting on this topic and will be scheduled for five full and one half day of scientific sessions. The plenary session will review the current understanding of polycystin 1, the protein product of the PKD1 gene. Day 1 will be devoted to PKD1 gene structure and function as well as phenotype-genotype relationships. Day 2 will cover polycystin function/expression and transport. Day 3 will cover clinical characteristics of polycystic kidney disease and day 4 will review genetic modifiers and model systems used to study PKD. Day 5 will be devoted to autosomal recessive kidney diseases and the last half day will be devoted to potential therapeutic strategies in cystic disorders of the kidney.